Daddy's Adorable Assassin (Daddy's Little Deviants)

COSMO

Ipickedupthe naked doll and set her on her feet to stand so I could tug her fluffy pink princess dress down over her head. Excitement bubbled inside me. She was going to be so beautiful, even without her tiara, which I still couldn’t find. One of the other dolls must have stolen it.

“They’re all jealous of you, Princess Poppycakes,” I said to my favorite of the dozens of dolls strewn around me on the floor. I only played with Princess Poppycakes, and all the other dolls had to watch in envy from the plastic-wrapped boxes they came in.

“You’re the prettiest doll in the world.” I tugged the dress down her generous hips and spanned her tiny waist with my fingers. Mother tried and tried but could never quite get my waist to be as small.

With a sigh, I slipped on her shoes, the strappy multicolored ones. I placed the standing mirror in front of her so she could see how pretty she was. So pretty everyone else did what she wanted. They would do whatever it took to make her happy, as it should be. She was the queen, and they were all her loyal subjects.

A door squeaked open, but I didn’t pay the intruder any mind. It was Princess Poppycakes’s time, which meant nobody else in the universe mattered.

“Baby, please put away your toys. It’s almost time to get ready.”

I lowered my head and shuffled around to give my back to the man who’d entered the room. How rude. Didn’t he see I wasn’t done playing yet? I still needed to fix Princess Poppycakes’s makeup.

“Baby, did you hear what I just said?”

Over my shoulder, I glared at the tall man with the broad shoulders and hard face and swatted Princess Poppycakes’s hairbrush in the air. “No, Daddy! No!”

“Yes. We have a schedule, remember? If we don’t stick to it, you get cranky, and a cranky baby isn’t a happy baby. Hmm?”

I stuck my tongue out at him and returned my attention to the doll in front of me. Maybe I should give her a bun. Her long blond hair that I’d streaked with pink and purple was bouncy enough for a high loose bun.

An arm clamped around my stomach from behind and lifted me. I gasped as the breath whooshed out of my body from finding myself airborne. Princess Poppycakes fell from my hand and landed on the floor.

“We don’t have time for tantrums tonight, Cosmo.”

“I just want to play.”

“Playtime is over. It’s eight o’clock. You need to take a bath, then get dressed for the night like we planned.”

“I want to play!”

“Don’t be a brat. You know what Daddy does to brats.”

I grabbed a handful of his hair and yanked. “Let me play some more, Daddy. Please. Five more minutes.”

“You keep up with the antics, Cosmo, and I’ll put you across my knees. Better yet, don’t make me use Mother’s display box.”

No, not the display box. I hated it. It was all stuffy, and I couldn’t move around much. “Daddy, you’re being unfair.”

“This is for your own good.” He set me back on my feet and slapped my behind hard. “Now march to the bathroom, young man.”

I turned to Princess Poppycakes instead, but before I could pick her up, he yanked at my arm.

“You’re really hankering for a punishment, aren’t you?”

“You’re being mean. You won’t allow me to play.”

“It’s your bath time.” He shoved me toward the bed so hard I fell on my stomach face first. The unmistakable clank of a belt buckle being opened reached my ears. I sucked in a breath and tried to hold it, but the sob escaped.

“Please, Daddy, I’m sorry.”

“You’re not sorry, Cosmo. You’re never sorry.”

“I promise I am. I’ll be a good boy. I swear I’ll be good.”

“You don’t know the meaning of being a good boy.” The belt fell to the bed beside me, and I grabbed it and flung it across the room on the floor. Daddy’s face turned red, and I shrank back, covering my face with my hands.